The ITAM Roundup: 11/3/24

roundup Nov 3, 2024

📰 News

300 percent price hikes push disgruntled VMware customers toward Broadcom rivals

After Broadcom’s acquisition of VMware, a 300% rise in prices and the elimination of perpetual licensing have driven some customers toward alternative virtualization solutions. Smaller and nonprofit organizations struggle to absorb these increased costs, while Broadcom appears to prioritize larger clients who are more resilient to price hikes. Despite the challenges of migrating off VMware, many frustrated customers are exploring revirtualization and devirtualization options, although Broadcom’s profitable integration strategy suggests no imminent change in its approach.

Dropbox lays off 20% of staff, says it overinvested and underperformed

Dropbox announced layoffs of 528 employees, reducing its workforce by 20% as it faces slowed demand in its core file-sharing business and rising macroeconomic challenges. CEO Drew Houston cited the need for a leaner, more efficient structure and a pivot toward growth in AI-powered products like Dropbox Dash. Despite incremental revenue and profit gains, the company seeks aggressive investment to remain competitive in the rapidly evolving tech market, with severance and layoff expenses expected to cost up to $68 million.

Windows 10 given an extra year of supported life, for $30

Microsoft will offer Windows 10 users an extra year of security updates for $30, extending support beyond its October 2025 end-of-life date. This Extended Security Update (ESU) program, previously only available for enterprise and educational users, addresses the challenges faced by users who either prefer not to upgrade or cannot due to hardware limitations. The move comes amid slow adoption of Windows 11, whose demanding hardware requirements and lack of compelling features have led some to consider alternatives, including macOS and Linux.

IBM Apptio preps FinOps link with Terraform via GitHub

IBM's Apptio FinOps suite has introduced CostGuard, a new GitHub app in private beta that allows developers to monitor cloud costs from tools like Terraform before deploying resources. The recent integration with Cloudability and IBM's Turbonomic product aims to simplify cloud cost management, addressing user challenges with Apptio’s complexity by adding automation and AI-driven insights through Watsonx. While these developments reflect IBM’s broader FinOps expansion, questions remain about deeper integration with Red Hat, especially around potential Terraform-Ansible linkages for infrastructure automation.

Datacenter developer says power issues holding up new builds

UK property developer Segro faces major delays in building new data centers due to power supply shortages, with CEO David Sleath citing access to energy as the "single biggest constraint." This challenge, impacting data center projects globally, is driven by surging demand from AI development and cloud services, putting strain on utility companies and local grids. While the UK has designated data centers as critical infrastructure to streamline development, delays in grid connectivity risk diverting investment elsewhere, and concerns about emissions continue to spark environmental debate.

Microsoft dips on weak guidance after beating on earnings

Microsoft reported strong earnings in its fiscal first quarter, with a 16% revenue increase and Azure cloud services growing by 33%, exceeding analyst expectations. Despite this, the company’s stock dropped 4% due to lower-than-expected growth guidance, partly due to supply chain issues impacting data center infrastructure availability. Microsoft's substantial investments in AI, cloud infrastructure, and equipment reflect its ongoing focus on scaling to meet demand, especially in AI-related services where capacity constraints persist.

📖 Tips

Modern device management vs. traditional device management: What you need to know

Modern device management (MDM) leverages cloud-based solutions, enabling remote provisioning, enhanced security through identity-based models like zero trust, and seamless support for remote work and BYOD, in contrast to traditional on-premises methods reliant on physical network access and manual provisioning. MDM improves scalability, operational efficiency, and security, adapting to the needs of modern, hybrid work environments by allowing real-time updates and unified management across devices. As businesses evolve, adopting MDM offers future-proofing benefits, reducing reliance on physical infrastructure and preparing organizations for continued growth and flexibility.

ITAM | SAM | SaaS | Cloud - November Insider by Certero

In case you missed most of October's ITAM developments...

Certero's November Insider highlights recent changes in Microsoft licensing and compliance, including updates to Microsoft Purview and new Self-Hosting and Disaster Recovery clauses for Windows Server that enhance deployment flexibility and business continuity. Additionally, organizations must now secure paid licenses for Anaconda Python if they have over 200 employees, emphasizing the risks of Shadow IT, while Microsoft’s October Patch Tuesday addressed critical vulnerabilities across various products. Other notable developments include Oracle's new cloud database services available on AWS and increased legal actions against unlicensed Java users, alongside VMware's introduction of late fees for subscription renewals following Broadcom's acquisition.

🐛Bugs & Exploits

Okta recently fixed a vulnerability that allowed users with usernames over 52 characters to bypass password checks under certain conditions. The flaw, present from July 23 to October 30, 2024, involved the caching process for Active Directory/LDAP authentication, where cached credentials could mistakenly grant access without re-verifying the password. Okta has now switched from Bcrypt to PBKDF2 to prevent this issue and advised affected customers to review their system logs for any unusual access during that period.